Discover Yourself - Act 5
by DreamSeeker
Summary: Mike reveals too much, Lynn gets upset, Peter receives a phone call from... (I corrected the file error, so the format should be readable now.)


"Discover Yourself" - Act 5  
  
Disclaimer: The characters of Peter and Sophie, and any Cliffhangers mentioned, do not belong to me. I have added some of my own characters into the mix.   
  
"Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment; Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength." - Tao te Ching  
  
June 1, 2001  
  
Morning  
  
Peter was addressing the group of six after breakfast. "I hope you all got some much-needed rest after that hike yesterday," Peter said, smiling at them. They all looked much better than the previous day, he noted. "Well, today, we're going to just hang around here and do some - dare I say the 'C' word - chores, and we'll have a couple of group meetings. In addition, Sophie or I will be meeting with each of you throughout the next couple of days on a one-on-one basis, to get a better idea of how we can help you achieve some goals for this program. Sophie is working on some material for that purpose right now." He looked around, noticing a mixed reaction from the group. "Okay, why don't John, Mike and Ali clean up the kitchen. And I need Liz, Troy and Lynn to do some laundry. We'll go from there." Everyone groaned once the chores were handed out. Gee, they sound just like the Cliffhangers, Peter thought with a smile.   
  
  
  
"Man, this sucks," Mike complained as Ali passed him a pot to dry. She looked over at him and smiled, not quite sure how to respond. John was still in the dining room, collecting the rest of the dirty breakfast dishes.   
  
"You don't talk much, do ya?" Mike asked Ali with a keen look, causing her to blush.  
  
"I - I don't know. It depends on my mood, I guess." She was tongue-tied and hoped she didn't make a complete fool of herself.   
  
"Yeah, well - that's cool. Sometimes people talk just to hear the sound of their own voices, I think." He paused, uncertain if he should keep talking or just shut up. "So, do you like working? I'm supposed to join the 'real world' soon myself, I'm not really looking forward to it."  
  
"Yeah, it's okay. It's nice to make my own money and to be independent." She paused, wondering if she should elaborate, but John walked in then.  
  
"Hey, you guys are slacking! Look at that pile you still have to wash!" he said sarcastically, making Mike and Ali wonder if he was teasing or being genuine.   
  
"Ease up, man! Get over here and get a little elbow grease going," Mike joked, trying to lighten the mood.   
  
The three continued cleaning up the kitchen, with Mike and John talking on and off, and Ali remaining fairly quiet. Once they'd finished the job, Mike suggested they go outside and relax until Peter or Sophie found them and gave them another chore or had a meeting.   
  
"You go ahead, I need to get in my morning run," John said, ready to be by himself for awhile and exercise.   
  
"Man, I admire your dedication, especially after you barely touched your breakfast. But I think I'll still chill out. You coming, Ali?" asked Mike.  
  
"Well, I don't think she's going to go on a run with me, do you?" John said sarcastically, then saw the downcast look on Ali's face. "Oh, hey Ali - that came out wrong. I just meant that, you know, you were struggling a little to keep up yesterday on the hike, I didn't think running was your thing. But you're welcome to come if you want." Why am I so mean sometimes? he thought.   
  
"No, that's okay, John. You're right, I'm not very good at athletic stuff. You go ahead on the run, and go ahead outside, Mike. I might head back to the dorm for a bit. I'll catch up with you guys later." Ali gave them both what she hoped to be a big smile.   
  
The two guys said their good-byes and headed out the door. Once they were out of sight, Ali let the tears fall. John had the right idea, I'm too fat to run. I hate my body. With that thought, she opened the refrigerator door and started to pull out leftover food from breakfast.   
  
  
  
  
Much to Lynn's surprise, Liz was very good at helping with the laundry. I guess she's not such a spoiled ditz, Lynn thought, chastising herself for making hasty judgements.   
  
Liz, meanwhile, looked over to Troy, who was folding clean sheets. "Looks like you've done that before," she said, smiling at him.   
  
"When you are a single father, you learn to do a lot of things," he answered with a smile. "What about you, you seem to know what you're doing as well."  
  
Pleased that he had noticed, Liz beamed. "I've grown up helping with chores around the house. I may not be that knowledgeable about the outdoors, but I'm a whiz at cleaning and laundry. Now the cooking, I need to work on some more," she said with a giggle, remembering an incident where she had used powdered sugar instead of granular sugar to make cookies, not knowing the difference.   
  
Troy turned his attention to Lynn. "What about you, Lynn? Are you a good cook?"  
  
Lynn was tempted to make a smart remark about the stereotype that women could all cook, but stopped herself. He seems like a nice guy, I need to loosen up a little. "Yeah, I can cook a bit. I just don't get a chance to very often, living alone and all. It's kind of hard to cook for one without eating leftovers of the same thing for a week. Plus, I work late a lot, so I grab fast food too often. It's a bad habit to get into," she smiled at Troy.  
  
"You must work out, then, because you don't look like you eat mostly fast food," Troy remarked with a smile.   
  
Lynn's could feel the heat rush to her face. I guess he's just like the rest of them, just interested in my body, she thought. "Yeah, I must," she said bitterly.   
  
Troy was about to apologize for upsetting her, but Peter walked in just then. "Great, the laundry's almost done. Good work, guys. Okay, I think we're all going to meet before lunch, so you guys can take a break for now. Don't forget about the rest of the questions you need to answer." He whistled as he walked out.   
  
"Well, I guess we have some free time, then. Want to take a walk, Troy?" asked Liz hopefully.   
  
"Uh, no thanks, Liz. Actually, I need to call my mom and my daughter. I promised them I'd call today, and now is as good a time as any." He excused himself and hurried out of the utility room, unknowingly leaving Lynn and Liz to carry the laundry back to the dorms.   
  
"Just like a man, leave the rest of the work to the women!" Lynn exclaimed angrily as she picked up a stack of bedding.   
  
"I don't think he did it on purpose." Geez, what is her problem? "Besides, I think he likes you. He certainly isn't interested in me," she said regretfully.  
  
Lynn gave a little snort. "Well, you can have him. Nothing but trouble," she added, muttering to herself. Liz shook her head, wondering why Lynn was so bitter towards men. The two grabbed big piles of clean laundry and headed back toward the dorms.   
  
  
  
  
"Hey, Mike! Finished with the kitchen?" Peter approached Mike, who was shooting some hoops by himself outside.   
  
"Yeah, we finished up a while ago. What's next, Chief?" Mike was hoping to have some more time off before his next chore. This is not my idea of a good time, he thought. I could really go for a bowl right about now.  
  
"Well, I was looking for John, to have our one-on-one. Have you seen him?" questioned Peter.  
  
"Oh, uh, John took off to run. I'm not sure how long ago, but he probably won't be back for awhile." Mike kept shooting hoops as he talked.   
  
Peter cursed himself for not mentioning to the group to stay on Horizon property when they weren't with Peter or Sophie. He couldn't force them to stay at Horizon, but he didn't want to risk anyone getting lost in the woods. "Okay, how about if you and I go ahead and have our one-on-one, then?"  
  
Mike stopped dribbling and looked over at Peter. "Yeah, that's cool, man. Whatever," he answered nonchalantly.   
  
"Great. Let's just meet over here, since it's so nice outside. That sound good to you?" Mike nodded and followed Peter over to a picnic table. "Okay. Now, here's what I'd like for us to accomplish today. First, we come up with some short-term and long-term goals for you. Then, we figure out the best ways for you to achieve those goals. At the end of the three weeks, we'll have another one-on-one and see if you want to change anything. How does that sound?"  
  
"Man, you guys are all about the goals here, aren't you?" Mike sighed, then nodded. "Yeah, alright. Short-term goals, huh? Like my job and stuff?"  
  
"They can be whatever you want them to be. Ideally, your goals should encompass all aspects of your life - your job, family, friends."  
  
Mike cut him off. "Yeah, I get the picture," he said dully. He thought for a minute. "Uh, I guess a short-term goal would be to not get wasted too often, since I'm going to be joining the working world," he said with a laugh.   
  
Peter was taken aback by Mike's statement but decided to play it cool, and smiled at Mike. "You like to get wasted, huh? What's your pleasure, beer? Liquor?"  
  
Mike was surprised that Peter was being so understanding. "Naw, man. I mean, drinking is fun and all, but I'm talking about just chillin' out, if you know what I mean," he said, holding his hand like he was inhaling from a joint. "You ever tried it?" he asked Peter.  
  
"Yeah, I tried it, before I got into the harder stuff and turned into a junkie. Now, I'm a recovering drug addict. I went through rehab, more than once, and it wasn't pretty." Peter grimaced at the memories, then looked intently at Mike. "Mike, you need to stop smoking up, man. It's a one-way ticket to disaster."  
  
Mike shook his head. "I should have known better than to tell you that stuff, man. I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but just because you couldn't handle it doesn't mean that I'm going to end up hooked. I mean, look at me right now. I haven't had any pot since I've been here, and I'm doing just fine."  
  
"Yeah, maybe, but you were high when you got off the bus the other night, weren't you?" Mike looked down, wringing his hands. "That's what I thought." Peter was silent for a moment, trying to decide how to best handle the situation. He couldn't hand down a punishment, this wasn't like a typical kid at Horizon. He'd be leaving in 3 weeks, and if Peter did something to upset him, he was free to leave whenever he chose to go.   
  
"Look, Mike, maybe you just think you need to use to relax. But trust me, there are so many better ways to do it than to mess with your body and mind like that. Once you start working, what happens if your employer catches you with a stash? You'll be fired for certain, and possibly arrested. Why take that chance?"  
  
Mike decided the best way out of this would be to just give in and let Peter hear what he wanted to hear. "You're right, Peter. I need to give it up. It's bad for me, and I don't need it." He kept looking down at the ground while he said this.  
  
Peter wasn't surprised at his statement, he knew Mike had no intention of giving up pot and was just trying to get out of the hot seat, but he decided to let it drop for now. "Okay, then, let's get back to the goals," he said, sighing inwardly and wondering if Sophie was having any more luck.   
  
  
  
  
Sophie had finally finished preparing for her one-on-one sessions and was eager to start. She and Peter had agreed that it would be better for Peter to meet with the men, and for Sophie to meet with the women, just in case any sensitive issues came up. Sophie knew that Peter was more than capable of dealing with any problem, but since they only had 3 weeks to work with these people, they decided this would make everyone more comfortable.   
  
Sophie went over to the Cliffhanger girls' dorm, where Lynn, Liz and Ali were all staying. Standing outside the open windows, she could hear Liz and Lynn chatting about their college experiences. Not wanting to appear as if she were eavesdropping, she made her presence known by yelling, "Anyone in there?"  
  
"Yeah, Sophie, we're in here, Lynn and me," Liz yelled back, sticking her head out the window.   
  
Sophie frowned. "Where's Alison? She should have been finished cleaning the kitchen long ago."  
  
"I don't know, we haven't seen her since breakfast." Liz shrugged.  
  
"Okay, I'll go try to find her. If she comes back here, ask her to stay put, will you? I want to do her one-on-one now." Liz nodded and waved bye as Sophie turned back toward the main lodge. Where could she be, she wondered. I'll check the kitchen to be certain they've finished.  
  
Sophie entered the main lodge and made her way into the dining room. Once inside, she thought she heard a noise coming from the kitchen. "Ali?" she called out, rounding the corner into the kitchen. It was very dark in the kitchen, with no outside windows, causing Sophie to stumble over something as she tried to find the light switch. She finally found the switch and turned on the light, then gasped at what she saw. "Oh, Ali," she said sadly.   
  
  
  
  
Peter's head was still swimming from his one-on-one with Mike. He wanted to write down some notes before he met with Troy and John, so he made his way to his office to have some quiet time to himself. He had just gotten settled and started concentrating on writing down his thoughts on Mike, when the phone rang. That's strange, Peter thought. Who would be calling my office during the summer?  
  
"Peter Scarbrow," he said into receiver. "Peter," said the voice on the other end, a bit shaky. He straightened up, recognizing the voice immediately. "Peter, thank goodness you're there. You have to help me, Peter. I can't wait until the end of the summer. I need to get out of here now!"   
  
  
  
Coming up:  
  
What will Sophie find in the kitchen?   
A Cliffhanger returns to Horizon earlier than planned.   
One of the group of six seriously considers calling it quits and going home.   



End file.
